Angel Tormented (The Louisiangel Series Book 3)

by C. L. Coffey

  “It’s going to take more than a duster to clear up this mess,” Gabriel said, blowing out a breath as he surveyed the area.

  The closer to the armory we got, the more I realized that it wasn’t going to be just a case of using a bit of elbow grease to clean up. Here things were charred. Thick black soot lined everything so that it looked like we were walking down an endless tunnel of darkness. The doors to the armory had been devoured in the fire. I glanced up and the last remaining shred of optimism disappeared when I saw through the ceiling of the floor above and the clear blue skies. It was only the fact that the walls were made of old stone that they were still standing, but all the woodwork that had been attached to it was gone. “Oh, hell,” I muttered. I was willing to bet the fire department had given us conditions to our return to the building, which included not venturing this far down, and probably a hard-hat. Only the fact that both Cupid and Gabriel had the ability to zip us out of there in an emergency vanquished the fear that the building could collapse on us at any moment. “It’s going to take more than a lick of paint to sort this,” I sighed.

  “The armory took the worst of the damage,” Cupid confirmed. “I spoke to the Fire Chief. He advised us to keep this whole wing out of bounds until a structural engineer had been in, but he figured that the engineer would say the same thing – we’re going to have to lose at least half of the bedrooms while work is undertaken.”

  No Michael, no cherubim, half a House… we had a huge mess to fix, and that was before we looked outside the convent walls. We were in crisis-mode.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The hardest part about writing a book, it turns out, is writing the acknowledgements. I have so many people to be thankful to that I have to make sure this section doesn’t turn out to be longer than story while making sure I don’t miss anyone out!

  First up is my parents. I’ve said it before and it is something I will most certainly be saying again and again, but I have the best parents. As well as being generous and supportive, I love the fact that I can send random text messages (Dad) which include the phrase "I'm trying to kill someone", and have a response back without being alarmed. I love you both.

  Becky, it’s here in writing – I love you. No one else has a sister who will turn up to a book signing, get distracted by a Star Wars colouring book, and then spend the rest of the time yelling in the store “Oh my god, is that C. L. Coffey?”

  No one else has a cousin like Vicky who will stand out in the street, trying to get people to come into the store to a book signing, get mistaken for flogging the Big Issue, yet somehow have to convince people I’m not the author of Harry Potter (true story) – and drive for over an hour to get there, all while being ill, and having a mother who couldn’t do her nails for it! You’re amazing!

  Next up is you. Yes, you. You reading this right now! There aren’t enough thank you’s for you. You stuck with the story, and you’ve enjoyed it… well, you might not be too happy right now, but as Michael would say, "Have faith." I hope you will continue with Angel's journey. Thank you to everyone who has left a review. It still blows me away to see that people are enjoying this series, and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

  To everyone who came to a book signing, shared a post on Facebook, or retweeted a Tweet, I say a massive thank you. Your support really does mean the world to me – without it, I would be stood in a bookstore by myself, wishing for somebody to like my book. Liking a post might not seem like much, but it helps so much.

  If the hardest part of the writing process is the acknowledgements, the scariest part is waiting for your beta readers to feed comments back to you. Until this point, no one has read the story and waiting for the comments to come back to see if the story is enjoyed is downright terrifying. Thankfully, I have some of the best beta readers, who give me brilliant feedback, and also (the important part), are not afraid to be honest with me. Donna, I don’t know what I would do without you and your suggestions. I know this story is a good as it is because you’ve helped flesh it out and give it that extra detail it needed. Kris, your insight is invaluable and you are always a brilliant sounding board – I'm glad you're in another time zone so I don't keep waking you up when I need to pick your brains! The both of you have been with me since the beginning and I can’t imagine doing this without either of you, either through your support, or your ideas. An hour long chat with you two, and I know I’m going to be writing for a couple more years. (At least there was no pregnant robot criminalists this time!!)

  Libby, you’re not here to keep me company at karaoke (boo!), but even though you are literally on the other side of the world, you still manage to find a plot hole! Thank you so much for that. Even more amazing is how you manage to arrange radio interviews for me in China. Speaking of, isn’t it time you came home?

  Rounding things off, is Martin. You’ve not had the easiest of times recently, but the fact you still find the time to read and comment floors me. Thank you so much for that. Thank you also for continuing to give me more ideas to build this world.

  Of course, I can’t go any further without mentioning my beautiful cover. I’m fairly certain I said this last time, but it certainly doesn’t make this any less true – Amalia, you are an artistic goddess. I didn’t think you could outdo yourself, but you did. You have, once again, managed to decipher my somewhat cryptic emails and put up with my requests for tweaks, and delivered a simply stunning cover image which perfectly captures the mood of a particular scene. I adore it! Thank you! It is an absolute pleasure to work with you.

  One of the most enjoyable parts of the process for me is going through the edits with Paddy. I didn’t get the opportunity to do this, this time. (Australia was apparently more important!). While I missed that part, I haven’t missed out on the editing itself. Nor the random conversations about what the characters are up to! Thank you for finding the time, amongst packing up and abandoning me (the Dream Team is officially no more), and still being able to get this edited.

  A huge thank you must also go to my proof readers. Naomi, thank you so much for turning this around so quickly! I’m sorry you’re mad at me, but I hope I can make it up to you! What is your price?

  When I sent this story out to for proof reading, I honestly thought that this time, I’d managed to send out a good document. It was probably better than the last one, but thanks to Emily, I’ve realised just how many words I miss out of sentences. Thank you: I’m glad your keen eyes managed to fill those blanks in for me!

  I can’t forget about my work colleagues, who not only need a thank you, but also an apology (expect more book cake), for putting up with me when I get overly excited at book covers, and writing in general, but also for being brilliant friends. Anastasia (who makes a better self-appointed groupie (no world book tour yet, I’m afraid. You’ll have to keep looking at Trackwise a little longer) than a beta-reader), Rebecca, Helen, Victoria, Scott, Debbie, Rob, (though you’ve moved on) Charles and Helen, and Jane (or Jane’s mum!). At the other work, Jodof, Nic, Rob, and Chuby – you too – thank you!

  An especially huge thank you must also go to Özgür. I’m sure you’ve bought half of the books I’ve sold and I love you for it! This one is for you!

  As always, I must send love and appreciation to Jim and Jana, but also to their mothers for raising such wonderful children. Jana, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, “Oh, there’s a castle” … no, wait… These books wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you welcoming me into your home. I also owe you an additional thank you for ‘translating’ things for me, without questioning it.

  Of course, I cannot forget (this time) Chris – thank you for putting me on the radio and subjecting your listeners to my ramblings. They might not have appreciated it first thing in on a Monday morning, but I did!

  To all the bloggers, (and shout outs need to go to Hannah at The Not So Public Library, and Nadine at Am Kinda Busy Reading in particular), thank you for taking the time to read, review, or simply share. Bloggers a
re so important and you deserve so much praise and credit. It’s an honour to be included on your blogs!

  Each time I write the acknowledgments they get longer and longer as more and more people become involved in the process. Each time, I’m getting more and more paranoid that I’m missing someone out. If I have, please forgive me: I truly appreciate your support.

  To round things off, once more, to all of you, I say THANK YOU!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  C. L. Coffey works in an office by day. By night she leads a (not-so) secret life DJing, and throughout it all, is constantly scribbling away as the plot bunnies demand constant attention.

  Her first novel was written when she should have been revising for her exams. While it is unlikely to ever see the light of day, it was the start of long relationship with a love of telling stories.

  A need to do more than just one subject led her to the University of Hull, where she graduated with an honours degree in American Studies. For the third year of the four year degree, she was able to call Baton Rouge home. Since then, Louisiana has claimed a large chunk of her heart, and remains a place she will always consider home.

  When not transcribing the stories of the angels and archangels, working, or DJing, she is at the beck and call of three cats – all of whom rank higher in the household than she does.

  WAYS TO CONNECT

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